A MOLECULE IN THE X-RAYS
These scientists are checking a molecule, a tiny assembly of atoms, one million times finer than a hair.
To penetrate this very small world, scientists use a type of radiation with amazing properties: x-rays from the Soleil synchrotron.
Fausto Sirotti - Physicist
It's electromagnetic radiation, like visible light but higher in energy and (very) interesting because it interacts (a lot) with electrons, which are the glue of all visible materials, allowing us to study the properties of these electrons.
The molecule being studied is (here,) behind this window in the middle of this rotating support.
Before checking the molecule with x-rays, scientists point a laser beam at it.
Mathieu Silly – Physicist
These molecules will emit light when excited by a laser, and x-rays will be used to check the electronic states of the molecule to understand the physics behind this luminescence.
We're exciting the sample quite a lot there!
So, the scientists excite the molecule with a laser like a bullfighter waving a red rag at a bull.
But what is the role of x-rays in this microscopic bullfight?
Mathieu Silly – Physicist
They are like the psychologist asking the bull what made him so wound up.
We can make better use of a molecule if we understand the details of its changes of state. For this molecule that emits light when excited, scientists want to understand the physics of this luminescence.
Mathieu Silly – Physicist
Understanding the behaviour of these molecules means (that) we can make a better choice of molecules to use in (the manufacture of) flexible screens, for example.
